October 10, 2016

Butternut Squash Soup

Name: Butternut Squash Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Yield: 4-6
Ingredients: 600g butternut squash (about 1/2 a large squash), peeled and chopped; 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped; 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped; 1 small onion, chopped; 900ml low-sodium vegetable broth; 1 tbsp oil; 2 cloves garlic, chopped; 125 ml half-and-half cream (optional); 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon; pinch of nutmeg; 1/2 teaspoon of salt (more or less to taste)

This Butternut Squash Soup is packed with layers of flavour (including sweet potatoes and apples) and is a perfect addition to the menu during your family gatherings this harvest season.

Butternut Squash Soup - Now You're Cooking — So smooth and delicious (not to mention healthy)! I added a Parmesan crisp for a garnish.

Happy Thanksgiving, my fellow Canadians! Autumn ushers in a range of hearty fruits and vegetables, as seen in the colourful produce aisles of grocery stores as of late. This recipe for my butternut squash soups uses a few of them: butternut squash, sweet potatoes and apples (yes, apples)!

I’m used to making chunky soups with big pieces of meats and veggies, but even though this is a smooth and creamy soup, it’s packed with layers of flavour. Butternut squash is a variety of winter squash (which also includes pumpkin, acorn and spaghetti squash).

If you’re intimidated about cutting these into chunks for a recipe, many stores sell them already peeled and pre-cut. Sweet potatoes are one of my favourite vegetables. They’re naturally sweet and very versatile. I decided to add in an apple to this recipe as well. It’s important to use a tart, green one (like Granny Smith) to help balance out the flavour of the squash and sweet potato. Freshly grated ginger, garlic and an onion are the other ingredients I used for this delicious soup along with a few spices that pair well with the veggies.

If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can blend your soup in batches using a regular blender (be careful not to over-fill). The cream is optional (so you can leave it out if you’re vegan or lactose-intolerant), but I find it adds a lot to the smoothness of the dish.

Monique Creary

Yields 4-6

Butternut Squash Soup

This Butternut Squash Soup is packed with layers of flavour (including sweet potatoes and apples) and is a perfect addition to the menu during your family gatherings this harvest season.

10 minPrep Time

40 minCook Time

50 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

600g butternut squash (about 1/2 a large squash), peeled and chopped

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped

1 small onion, chopped

900ml low-sodium vegetable broth

1 tbsp oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

125 ml half-and-half cream (optional)

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon of salt (more or less to taste)

Directions

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, sauté the onions and garlic in the oil for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the grated ginger and cook for another minute.
Add in the chopped squash, sweet potatoes, apple and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the squash and sweet potato is tender. Remove from heat and stir in the cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
Pureé the soup using an immersion blender until smooth.
Blend in the cream into the soup, if desired.

Notes

Try to make sure you chop your vegetables at roughly the same size, so that they cook evenly (e.g. 1 1/2" cubes).